Nothing for Granted
by Noodleslove
Summary: SUIKODEN 2. JowyRiou. Slash, yaoi, shounenai. Postgame. Jowy is injured while he travels with Nanami and Riou across the country. Fluff. :333


Title: Nothing for Granted

Author: Noodleslove

Rated: G/PG?

Warning: This is a Jowy/Riou story. Meaning slash, m/m, BL, shounenai, etc. If you do not enjoy this please hit the back button. :3

Notes: Ummm I had intended for this to be a one shot, but it is going on for much longer than I thought it would, so instead I will make it two chapters.

The next (and final part) will be up as soon as I have it written. Please look forward to it. :33

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

Cold, raining and muddy. It certainly wasn't what one would call ideal traveling conditions. But, when you were in the middle of an open field during a torrential downpour the moving was slow and shelter was hard to find.

The Dunan Unification War had ended, peace had finally been restored and Riou, Jowy and Nanami were traveling across the country together. They were taking time to enjoy the life that had become so precious to all of them. Precious to everyone who had been a part of and survived the war; certainly.

After Nanami's almost fatal accident with a rogue arrow she had become even more protective and appreciative of both her adopted brother and childhood friend, if it were humanly possible for her to be so.

Riou was more patient and jovial toward his Big Sister's outgoing -and sometimes embarrassing- antics and never took for granted a moment of time he spent with Jowy. Though, Riou was never the sort of boy to take anything, especially family, for granted. Being appreciative of family was a characteristic you couldn't help but have when you were adopted.

And Jowy, he was just glad to be alive. He never thought he'd be able to share moments like this with his friends again and for this he was eternally grateful. Content to just be with Riou and Nanami, traveling the land, having adventures (of a less dangerous and bloody sort) and enjoying every moment.

Well, he had been enjoying every moment until now. It was hard to appreciate anything when you were carrying a heavy pack on cold and aching shoulders with nowhere to rest your sore legs. It felt as though his bag had been filled with lead and rocks. Being soaked to the core was just adding to the already insufferable weight.

The weather was sunny and warm while they had been traveling through the forest yesterday. Bright, cloudless cool nights when they moved through the mountains. All the times there would have been perfectly suitable shelter were, of course, the times when they didn't need the blasted protection from the elements. Because they elements were, ironically, somewhere else. They were probably off torturing some other poor fools in a field somewhere. Jowy could share in that pain.

But wasn't that the way that life always worked out? It certainly seemed so.

Jowy shook his head and continued to grumble under his breath. His head bowed against the wind and unfaltering rain –was that hail he just felt hit his forehead? - and stumbled slightly. He was barely able to see Riou a couple feet in front of him, let alone any rocks or sticks in the grass that could trip him up.

Riou… Riou was a completely different matter and Jowy was sure he didn't need to be thinking about that right now. Best to keep his mind clear of thoughts that could depress him and sap the energy he so sorely needed when traversing in these conditions.

But as it always is with the mind, once you need to stop thinking about something it's all you can fixate on. Riou, training with Jowy when they were younger. Riou, joining the Unicorn Brigade with him. Riou being thrown into war, leading his army against Highland. Riou with his carefree smile and sincere eyes…

Riou…

Jowy was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard Nanami cry out.

"Riou, Jowy! Watch out!"

Jowy snapped his head up and saw Riou grab his Tonfa so swiftly you would miss it if you blinked. They were being attacked by some sort of monster. Nanami had already reached it and began to attack it with quick furious strikes. Riou started upon it as well and Jowy dropped his bag, reached for his staff and ran over to join them in the fight.

When he reached it he saw it was a Chimera… An enormous Chimera, the biggest he'd ever seen. He skidded to a halt in front of it, kicking up mud and splattering his hair and clothes. He struck it on its lion's head and began to pull the power of a fire rune to the surface of his consciousness.

But as he was concentrating solely on this energy to finish the beast off quickly he didn't notice as it lashed out at him. The Chimera came upon him with a heavy paw and sliced Jowy's arm. He fell back a step, slightly stunned, and the blood began to pour out his arm, down his hand and into the ground, disappearing into the mud and grass.

"Jowy!" Startled, Riou began, slip-sliding through the thick mud to make his way toward his injured companion.

Nanami fell upon it with furious blows and in a rage the creature reared up and crashed into Jowy, knocking him to the ground, stomping on his bleeding arm, and splintering the bone in his forearm.

Riou -finally having made his way to Jowy's side through the deep mud- stood over his friend protectively and drove his Tonfa, with the incredible strength required to accomplish this, straight into the beast's chest. With a final roar and a thick squelch as Riou pulled out his Tonfa, the Chimera fell to the ground, dead at last.

Jowy felt –rather than saw, he was still quite dazed- Riou kneel at his side. "Oh, Jowy, your arm. We have to get it wrapped quickly! The cut looks deep."

Riou placed an arm around Jowy's neck and waist to help lift him into a sitting position while Nanami rummaged in her soaked pack for some bandages. "Stupid… rain. Everything –soaked- can't find…" Nanami muttered under her breath before finding what she was looking for.

She pulled out the roll of cloth and fell to her knees beside Riou and began to wrap the gashed arm to stop the flow of blood.

Jowy winced and flexed his right hand against Riou's arm reflexively. Riou grimaced against the tight grip but didn't complain. He could understand Jowy's pain. Not only was his arm sliced wide open from the claws of the Chimera, but it was beginning to swell up and bruise from being crushed by the giant beast's paw. Having it touched at all, let alone wrapped tightly would be enough to make anyone wince.

Nanami finished off the roll of cloth bandages and tied a knot at the end. She guessed that the wounds weren't deep enough to need to be sewn, but she would certainly watch it to see if the blood would stop on it's own. The break however… that would need to be set up in a splint. Nanami was no doctor, but being a Big Sister at a dojo lends to experience with injuries of this sort.

"Riou," she began, "we'll need to find some shelter so I can take a better look at this." Nanami almost had to shout over the roar of the wind and the rain. "I can barely see my hand in front of my face, let alone take care of an injury properly. Not to mention that the cold and wet will be no good for it."

Riou nodded, leaned into Jowy so he could be heard over the weather and said into his ear "Are you okay to walk Jowy? You haven't lost too much blood, have you? Are you dizzy?"

Jowy shook his head and gripped Riou's arm in an effort to pick himself up off the ground. After some initial dizziness and a few spots in his vision from the pain he was fine.

Nanami took Jowy's good arm in her own and began to lead him, as only Big Sisters can do, toward the edge of the field. At least, what she hoped was the edge of the field. It was hard to tell. Nanami could be a foot from walking into another Chimera for all she could see in front of her. It had indeed started to hail and that made the going even more difficult.

Riou had fallen back to grab Jowy's pack and he wore it on his front. He also grabbed Nanami's as well and sort of half carried, half dragged it behind him -he wasn't worried about getting it dirty, they were all soaked to the core with rain and caked with mud-. One bag was heavy enough, but three… Riou staggered under the weight. He didn't begrudge Nanami the task of leading Jowy about like an injured puppy, but she certainly picked the easier of two jobs.

Riou trudged on slowly through the thickening mud, praying that they find a cave, a group of trees, anything to provide some warmth and shelter. At least long enough to do up Jowy's arm properly.

He wished Nanami hadn't forgotten to grab her own bundle…

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

After what felt like several sunless days to Jowy but was probably forty minutes in realty, Nanami spotted the dark outline of some trees and what looked to be the mouth of a cave.

"Ooh, finally! I'm getting so sick and tired of all this dreary weather. I'm freezing to death! Isn't that right, Jowy?" Nanami said in her chipper -keep-his-mind-off-the-pain- voice.

Jowy nodded slightly, being pulled more violently still by Nanami toward the cave. Not that he minded so much now. The faster he got to anything dry the happier he was. And he really would like to get his arm in a splint, it was throbbing more painfully than ever, and blood had been seeping through the bandages for at least twenty-five minutes now. It looked to him that he might have to get it stitched after-all.

Jowy hated being stitched.

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

Riou was about 40 metres back from Jowy and Nanami and he could barely make anything out but the general direction they were headed in. He hoped that Jowy's arm was okay and that Nanami would find a place for them to stay soon. He didn't want his friend's arm to get worse, in the very least. He knew how much Jowy hated stitches.

He'd have to put some herbs, or try his rune when they got somewhere he could see what he was doing.

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

When Nanami reached the cave she was grateful for what she saw. It was a deep room and the water had only soaked a few feet into the mouth of it. There was plenty of room to lay out the packs and clothes and bundles in front of a fire to speed up the drying. She would just have Riou collect some—

"Riou!" Nanami gasped. "Where is he? How far behind did he get to? Oh… that boy, I always have to tell him to keep up his training or he'd never do it at all! He wouldn't be so far back-"

"Nanami," Jowy interjected mildly, "I think he's got all our packs. It must be slowing him down. I'll go out and get him."

Nanami started toward the mouth of the cave and smiled. "Of course you won't, I can go help him better than you can with your arm like that! I just don't like that I have to go back into the pouring rain again." She pumped her fist energetically, "but it isn't anything I can't handle! Riou needs help, he must be soaked through."

With that she darted out of the cave, head ducked down, back in the direction she came. To the best of her knowledge anyway.

Jowy sat on a rock at the back of the cave and cradled his wounded arm against his chest. He hated that he could be so helpless that he couldn't even help carry his own bundle. He knew that Riou wouldn't mind doing it for him but the feeling of being powerless was always one that Jowy despised deeply. Those kinds of feelings led to his coronation as King. He wanted to do something to help people, to end the war quickly. Not just be a mindless trooper in an army.

He knew it was foolish, this sort of thinking, and his days of being a King were far over. But people are people and he couldn't help the way he was feeling as he held his maimed arm and stared hard out the cave to look for a sign of Riou and Nanami.

Riou and Nanami returned together about ten minutes after she had departed from the cave. As she set down her belongings and Riou put down his own and Jowy's the unthinkable happened: the hail relented, the rain fell only in a very light mist and the beginnings of the night sky could be seen.

Jowy slapped his good hand to his forehead in disbelief, Riou sighed lightly and rolled his eyes and Nanami laughed. "Well, one of you boys must have terrible Karma for it to happen this way! Come on, let up and tell Big Sister what you did to make the weather punish us like this!"

Riou smiled innocently but Jowy frowned a bit. If it was down to Karma he knew that his was in a terrible state. You can only repent for so much after all the bloodshed of war.

Riou caught the look on Jowy's face and seemed to understand his thoughts perfectly. "Nanami, don't be silly. It isn't anything like karma that controls the weather. Don't say things like that."

Nanami frowned and sat herself on the floor with her bag, beginning the long process of unpacking and unwrapping all her belongings so they could dry out. She didn't see the problem with what she had said. Nanami believed all things concerning war with her Riou and Jowy were forgiven and couldn't understand the lingering traces of guilt. Sadness and regret, of course, but not guilt.

"Just for that, Mister, go out there by the trees beside the cave and find some dry sticks so we can get a fire started."

Riou's shoulders sagged. He hadn't even gotten to sit down yet and here was Nanami, resuming position of Captain and sending Riou to do his duties.

Well, someone had to do it. And the faster the better, he figured. After all, they really had to do something to get Jowy's arm fixed properly.

Jowy smiled warmly at Riou and Riou could see the hint of apology behind that smile. Riou knew Jowy better than anyone. Better than Nanami, even, and he knew that Jowy must have been feeling terrible not being able to help.

Riou smiled back brightly and left the cave to get firewood from the surrounding forest.

He didn't see Jowy flush at this smile in the dim light.

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

By the time Riou returned Nanami had unpacked both her and Riou's bags and was starting on Jowy's. But they needed a fire if they wanted everything to dry quickly.

Riou had untied his scarf and piled as many sticks as he could onto it. He left and returned once more with another pile; Nanami had finished by then.

Riou shook out his scarf of bits of bark and twigs left over and laid it out with the extra clothes and blankets Nanami had put on the cave floor to dry. Then he set to arranging the sticks into a heap in the middle of the cave. He struck a rock he found against the floor and tried to spark some smaller twigs and dried leaves to get the fire started.

Jowy was always the best at making fires, Riou mused. He never really had to do it himself because Jowy had always been there with him when they needed a fire. It was one of those things that Riou would never take for granted again.

It was easy to just get used to having fires made, to have that constant companion do everything with him, to have a best friend to rely on no matter what. The war had changed that. Riou knew that he couldn't just take advantage of all these things, he had to be grateful and realize how special they were. Every moment he shared with Jowy (and Nanami too, he thought in the back of his mind) was precious to him.

He looked up and over to Jowy and watched him for a moment. Riou had taken to watching Jowy over the last little while. He wanted to see him and remember him as a person; not just as a symbol or a figure in his life.

Riou watched as Jowy stretched out his legs, the colour of his pants undistinguishable through the dirt and blood. He watched Jowy's forehead crease as his arm throbbed painfully and noticed, not for the first time, how fine and elegant Jowy's features were. Though, being covered in mud with his long hair tangled and stuck to his forehead couldn't really be called elegant.

In fact…

Riou finished with his task -and did rather well for one who rarely stoked a fire- and grabbed a damp cloth from a pile of blankets. He walked to the back of the cave where Jowy, apparently startled out of his thoughts looked up in puzzlement at Riou standing above him.

Riou took a seat on the rock next to Jowy and smiled. "Your face is a mess, you know, all covered in mud," he said, not unkindly.

Jowy laughed lightly. "Well, that's a nice thing to say coming from you. You have leaves in your hair and your circlet is crooked."

Riou looked up toward his head, realized he couldn't see what Jowy was talking about –his forehead out of his range of vision- and tilted the circlet slightly. "This way?" he asked.

Jowy raised his good arm and brushed away the hair that was obscuring Riou's headpiece. He rested his hand against Riou's cheek and gently moved the gold band in the opposite direction Riou had done it. He let his hand linger just a moment, pretending to inspect whether or not it was even. To touch Riou like that, even just for a fleeting instant, made Jowy feel unexplainably full inside.

He cleared his head of those thoughts; grinned roguishly and ruffled Riou's hair until a few leaves fell onto the floor. "I'll leave the rest of them in there for you, Riou. After all, we can't have you all spiffed up while I look like a right mess; muddy and the rest."

Riou laughed. "It doesn't look all **that** terrible. I just thought I'd bring you a cloth. You and I both know how uncomfortable it is to have dry mud on your face."

Nanami tutted from over in the direction of the fire, which she had taken to rebuilding since Riou's had already almost gone out. It wasn't catching as well as she hoped. The boys started—for a minute they'd forgotten she was there.

"You know, some people think it's good for soothing aches… Don't some people have Hot Springs, but with mud instead? I've heard of them before."

Jowy and Riou looked thoughtful. "Why would people pay good Potch to sit in mud. I can go outside and do that for free," Jowy said, voicing both boys' thoughts.

"I don't know," Nanami responded. "I'm just saying that I heard it, that's all." She returned to tending the fire and drying off some more rolls of bandages. She didn't want to apply damp cloth to Jowy's arm. She also prepared a fine needle and some thread. She brought them to mend their clothes, but they would certainly work if Jowy required the stitches.

When she was settled back into her work and humming lightly, Riou turned his attention back to Jowy, trying to steer his thoughts from the needle which seemed to be glinting evilly in the firelight.

"Well, anyway, I brought you this cloth. Some people may like having mud on their faces but I certainly don't. Not while it's drying and pulling on your skin."

Riou handed the cloth to Jowy who wiped it across his forehead and cheeks. He didn't know where the mud was since he couldn't see his reflection but he didn't think it could be all that bad. He would wash tomorrow when it was day time, for now he was more concerned about having his arm wrapped in dry bandages and put in a splint.

"How about that," Jowy asked, "did I get most of it off?" He turned his head so Riou could see it from all sides.

"You missed a bit here," Riou pointed to the side of his left eye, "here," he pointed to his chin and the corner of his mouth, "and here," he pointed to his forehead.

Jowy laughed. "I can't even manage to wash my own face, how in the world have I survived this long? It's a miracle I don't just walk around banging into things and falling over."

Riou laughed with him and took the cloth from his hand. "Well, you manage to bang into things and fall over anyway, don't you?" He stood up, "it's a good thing you have me, isn't it?" Riou walked to the end of the cave and dampened the cloth in the mist outside. If he hadn't already been soaked to the bone it may have been refreshing.

Jowy was smiling in a strange way when Riou returned to the rock. 'It's a good thing you have me, isn't it?' was replaying over in his head. Jowy felt rather silly for reacting in such a way to what Riou had said, he had meant it in a perfectly innocent way, but Jowy couldn't help it. This sort of response was becoming more frequent since the end of the war.

"What's got you looking like that, Jowy? Think of something funny?" Riou asked, taking a place beside Jowy.

Just as soon as Jowy opened his mouth to make an excuse he shut it again. Riou was wiping off the side of his face with the cloth. Jowy felt his face burn and wished for the mud to come back to cover his embarrassment.

Riou brushed off the corner of Jowy's mouth with his thumb and trailed the cloth along Jowy's bottom lip down to his chin where he scrubbed at the offending mud. Then he passed the damp rag along Jowy's neck, clearing it of all the mud he could until the rag was too dirty to use.

"Jowy," Riou said, as he looked up to see if he had missed any spots, "what's wrong? Your face is sort of red."

Jowy flushed deeper and tried to speak, "I—uh, well…"

"Hmmm, I don't see how mud can be good for people when it turns them red, can you? Maybe you're having some sort of reaction?"

Jowy silently thanked whoever was listening to his prayers for Riou's incurable naivete when it came to matters like this. He was sure it was a quality that would last Riou's whole life. If war hadn't hardened him, Jowy supposed nothing would. "You're right, Riou. It's a good thing we got the mud off when we did. Even if it took a joint effort." He smiled at his brown-eyed friend. "I'm sure that if my face **is** having a reaction it'll certainly clear soon. Besides, it can't be nearly as bad as my arm."

Riou frowned and glanced down. "Is it really painful? Of course it is. Let me take the wet bandage off and try my rune, then we'll put some herbs on it." He sighed, "It was stupid of me to wait this long to put something on it, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Riou. It certainly isn't your fault. An extra ten minutes hasn't hurt anything."

Riou untied Nanami's knot and unwrapped the bandage. He gasped lightly when the wound was uncovered. It was deeper than he thought and still bleeding. Not to mention the swelling and bruising from the cracked and possibly broken bone. He put his hand on Jowy's arm above the gash and called on his Bright Shield rune. He felt the energy go through him and into Jowy. The cut seemed to stop bleeding and the pain lines in Jowy's forehead smoothed.

"There, that should stop the bleeding for a little while but it can't unbreak your bones. How does it feel?" Riou asked.

"It feels a lot better right now. Thank you, Riou." Jowy smiled, grateful for his friend's help. Hopefully he wouldn't have Nanami come at him with that needle after all.

Speaking of the devil, Nanami came over with the dried bandages, a small pouch of medicine and a small splint. "Sorry it took so long, Jowy! I had to wait for the bandages and herbs to dry out a bit before I could apply them."

She shooed at Riou to move out of the way and took his place beside Jowy. "Now, Riou, I need you to help me. Place the herbs here," she pointed at the wound, "and try and keep them in place as I wrap the bandage. Then we'll place the splint on top of the bandage and wrap that as well, okay?"

Riou did as he was told and aside from some stinging pains when the herbs were placed on Jowy's arm the bandaging went smoothly.

Jowy moved his left arm up and down a bit. "Thanks, Nanami, steady as a rock! I'm sure it'll get better in no time."

Nanami positively glowed at the praise. "After growing up with two boys like you I'd have to be good at it, wouldn't I? I've had lots of practice!"

Riou smiled fondly at Nanami. For all her boisterousness and energy she was always a very loving person. He couldn't have asked for a better sister.

"Now then," she continued. "I've dried some blankets. They aren't perfect but I don't think they'll get much drier tonight. And if we sleep by the fire they'll be okay. Some of the food has spoiled with water, but there's some to be had before we sleep."

She placed her hand to her chin and thought for a moment. Apparently there was much to be said before they ate. Boys don't care about those sorts of things though. They'd rather be having dinner than listen to Nanami talk about what had to be done. Or at least be eating while she talked.

"Oh, that's right. Tomorrow, since we're all covered in mud, we'll have a bath if it's sunny and warm and I'll wash our clothes. I'm pretty sure there's a small lake or pond in this area. And if there isn't, there will be by tomorrow with all the rain we've had, right?" She giggled lightly. "But it's too dark now, and we've dried enough already, don't you think?"

Jowy and Riou nodded. They would agree with anything now that Nanami had mentioned supper. It had been a long and trying day and they just wanted to eat.

They spread out blankets in front of the fire that were only slightly damp and ate their supper of dried beef and cheese. The rolls had spoiled with water but they could easily replace them when they next got to a town.

After they ate and Nanami collected the dishes and put them in a dish of water to soak for the night, (she was far too exhausted to clean tonight) they laid out their blankets and settled down for the night.

It was only a few minutes before Nanami was asleep, breathing steadily and smiling peacefully, but Jowy and Riou lay awake.

"Riou…?"

Riou turned in his makeshift bed to face Jowy. "Yeah, Jowy?"

Jowy lay on his back staring up at the ceiling of the cave; his left arm rested on his chest. "Thank you… for all your help today…"

"Help?" Riou whispered, "but I haven't even done anything."

"Sure you have," Jowy replied softly. "You killed that Chimera when it was rearing to stomp me to bits, you carried all those packs without complaining once. Then you built a fire-"

"Not very well," Riou interrupted, laughing quietly, mindful of Nanami sleeping.

Jowy grinned. "And you made my arm feel so much better."

"Well, it isn't a big deal," Riou said, humbly.

"Maybe not to you, but I appreciate it all the same," Jowy said with an undertone of something Riou couldn't quite place.

"You're welcome Jowy. You know that I'll do anything I can to help you, no matter what."

"I know, thank you for that too."

Riou smiled. Jowy couldn't see it, looking at the ceiling but he could hear it in Riou's voice. "And I know you'll always do the same for me."

"Of course I will. Always…"

"Good night, Jowy."

"'Night, Riou…"

Soon after that Jowy could hear the quiet breathing and knew that Riou had fallen asleep as well. He must have been exhausted, fighting the huge monster and carrying all that weight.

Jowy turned his head to watch the steady rise and fall of Riou's chest. It was soothing to see. He looked so peaceful when he slept. Riou always looked like a peaceful person. He had a calming presence and people were drawn to Riou through no doing of his own. He had beautiful serene eyes and a mild way to his movements.

Well, Jowy considered, that is until he gets into battle. Riou's eyes would become dark and intense and his posture became rigid and tense. Riou had a very powerful air about him, though he was unaware of it himself. Everyone around him knew it. How else would he have thousands of people follow him into battle? Follow a teenager half their age into a giant war? People trusted him, believed in him without a second thought.

Jowy trusted him and believed in him and always had. Even when he had been King he didn't doubt that Riou would come out victorious. There was no other possible scenario. Though Riou doubted himself and his abilities even now, it was okay because he had Jowy (and thousands of others) to believe in him.

But especially Jowy.

Jowy smiled to himself. He felt lucky to be Riou's best friend. He was sure that Riou felt he was lucky to have Jowy but that was his self-consciousness speaking. Riou didn't know that when he walked into a room Jowy's world brightened. When he smiled, Jowy felt lighter and could accept the good things in life. He had that much influence just by existing beside Jowy.

The smile faded from Jowy's face slightly. When you have these feelings, he thought, you cannot go back to living the way you did in the past. You can accept that the feelings won't be returned and move on, you can brood on it for years, you can try with all your might to forget but the past won't ever go away and your life is changed, just from having felt it.

Jowy sighed and closed his eyes. He knew his life had changed. Although it didn't look like it on the surface he knew that things were different. He supposed that rather than brood, despair or try and forget he might just accept that although things were different inside himself they wouldn't change on the outside. Then maybe, he'd be able to move on.

Even as his thoughts carried him to sleep, he doubted it.

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

Jowy was startled awake by a stabbing pain in his arm. He bolted up into a sitting position and cringed. It seemed that Riou's healing spell was starting to wear off. The hurt in his arm was staggering. He leaned into himself cradling his arm and wincing. This was not the way this adventure with his friends was supposed to go.

A hand touched Jowy's shoulder and he looked up quickly. It was Riou. He kneeled down beside Jowy, concern etched in his face.

"Are you okay Jowy? You look like you're in a lot of pain," Riou said gently, his hand still lying on Jowy's shoulder.

Jowy smiled as best he could against the pain and said in a staggered voice, "Well, I've certainly felt a lot worse. It isn't anything I can't handle." As he said this he grimaced and doubled over.

Riou could see sweat beading on Jowy's forehead; lines of pain worrying his brow. He moved to sit directly in front of Jowy and gently took the arm in his hands, channeling the healing power within himself to help soothe the pain. When Riou finished he opened his eyes and saw the last vestiges of white light glimmering around Jowy's forearm.

Jowy's face visibly relaxed and he smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Riou, that does wonders. I don't know what I'd do without you." He meant this more than Riou could probably understand.

"Well, It's a good thing I was awake then, wasn't it?" Riou said as he took his hands from Jowy and leaned back, resting his weight on his palms.

Jowy frowned. Judging by how dark it was it was still the middle of the night; Riou shouldn't have been awake yet. And lord knows how much Riou loved to sleep. It was always a huge pain getting him up in the morning. Well, for Nanami, since Jowy was usually asleep too.

"I just had some trouble sleeping, that's all." Riou smiled sweetly. "It certainly isn't anything to get worried about."

Jowy scrutinized Riou carefully. "Nothing to worry about eh?" He shifted his arm and crossed his legs under his blanket. "Have you been having nightmares again…?"

Riou looked up at the ceiling of the cave in an unconcerned matter. Jowy saw through it; Riou was avoiding his eyes on purpose. As much as Riou believed, he was an even worse actor than Nanami and Jowy. Which was certainly saying something. Their bad acting had once put them in a prison cell.

Jowy continued to stare until Riou became uncomfortable. Jowy could see it in the way he shifted his weight around and examined the most uninteresting cave ceiling as though it were a work of art. Just a moment more and Riou would break.

Finally, Riou sighed and moved his gaze back to Jowy. "Well, yes, I had a nightmare, but it isn't a big deal." He looked Jowy in the eye and said carefully, "That part of our lives is over. We don't have to worry about it, or feel bad about the choices we've made." The corner of his mouth lifted lightly. "Besides, if I wasn't affected by something as horrible as a war, well, that would be kind of cold, wouldn't it?" He said this in a sadly resigned way. As though he wished he really were a cold person so he could forget all about it.

Jowy knew that for all the talk of not worrying or feeling bad, Riou was still haunted by the sights of the war that ravaged their country. Riou would always hide his pain so that others around him wouldn't be hurt. Of course, he was strong enough to handle it but Riou was a gentle person and dealing with the pangs of bloodshed alone was a terrible thing, especially for someone as kind as he.

Jowy decided to take a supportive approach. No sense dwelling and making him feel worse. "You're right, you know," he said, brightening his voice and smiling. "We shouldn't feel bad, after all, look at the peace that you've made for all these people."

He studied Riou's eyes closely and saw them brighten slightly. "There, you see? Nightmares are scary, but you're right, we've moved past that and we won't have to worry about it ever again."

He leaned toward Riou and ruffled his hair affectionately. But his face grew serious for a moment and he brought his hand to rest on the side of Riou's face and looked intently into his eyes. "Remember that whenever you have nightmares all you have to do is look around you and know that you've made the world a better place for millions of people. Not many people can say that."

Riou's expression softened, he closed his eyes and leaned into the hand for a moment before Jowy removed it, his face growing warm. It went unnoticed by Riou in the dim firelight. "I can never take all the credit. It takes thousands of people to make a difference. You made just as much of a change as I did-"

Jowy opened his mouth to disagree by Riou raised a hand. "You can deny it all you like, Jowy, but it's true. Without you the world would be a very different place." He yawned, and smiled sweetly. "But thank you all the same. You always say just the right thing, you know."

Jowy stammered a bit before just giving up and staring at his lap his face growing even warmer. All he could feel was Riou's soft presence all around him. It made him feel flustered and senseless but he didn't want it to stop.

Riou beamed and stood up, oblivious to Jowy's feelings, and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know it's exactly true, so don't try and disagree."

He moved back to his blanket and lay down. "Do you think your arm will be okay now?"

Jowy nodded, his tongue felt dry and stupid in his mouth so he didn't want to speak.

"I'm glad," Riou said. "If it starts to hurt you again wake me up right away so I can help, okay?"

Jowy looked over and nodded again.

Riou scrunched up his nose -an adorable expression, Jowy thought- and said, "I'm serious, Jowy. Wake me up. There's no sense in you losing sleep when it'll only take two minutes to make it feel better. Promise, okay?"

Jowy swallowed and found his voice at last. "Yes, yes, Riou. I promise." He crossed his finger over his heart, and rolled his eyes in a way that could only be described as exaggerated, which made Riou giggle gently.

"Alright then, I'm trusting you, sarcastic or not. Good night, Jowy." He rested his head on his makeshift pillow and closed his eyes.

Jowy smiled and lay on his back once again. His arm didn't bother him anymore that night and his sleep was peaceful and warm.

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

Jowy woke up a few hours later and could feel the sun behind his eyelids. He made to stretch his arms and legs and realized he couldn't move. What in the world… Jowy's eyes shot open and he was greeted with the sight of Riou kneeling down, Jowy's legs in-between his friend's. Riou had also taken his injured arm in his hands and was in the process of healing the wound again. His eyes were shut and his mouth moved slightly as he concentrated on fixing his friend.

The pale white light of the rune faded and Riou opened his eyes and looked to his blonde friend. "Good morning, Jowy. I hope I didn't wake you but you were getting those forehead wrinkles and I thought your arm was bothering you again."

Riou made no move to get up or change his position and Jowy found himself flustered yet again. "Oh- well, no, you didn't wake me." Riou looked relieved and after a moment he stood up and moved to sit beside Jowy, rather than on top of him.

Jowy looked around the cave and saw the fire was still going -someone must have gotten new wood- but it had been moved closer to the mouth of the cave, probably so the smoke would go out, and Nanami was no where to be seen. "Where's Nanami gone to, Riou? What time is it anyway?" He rubbed his eyes and stretched in a very exuberant way.

Riou laughed at Jowy. He looked like he grew another metre when he stretched. "Nanami has gone out to do the dishes from last night and wash some of the mud off her clothes and have a bath, so we mustn't go outside right now."

Jowy laughed. Nanami was so paranoid about things like that. Riou wouldn't ever sneak out to look at his own sister and Jowy, well, he loved Nanami dearly but he wasn't too keen on seeing her bathe either.

"And it's almost noon. Nanami wanted to wake you up early to get the day started or something," he wrinkled his nose in distaste at waking up early. "I told her not to. That you'd been up half the night and needed your rest."

Jowy knew that 'half the night' was a big exaggeration but he didn't mind. He was grateful for the extra sleep. "Thanks, Riou."

Riou leaned in conspiratorially and whispered, as though afraid Nanami would hear. Jowy moved his face closer to Riou to listen, overwhelmed once again by his best friend's presence.

"She wanted to dump water on you again, and I remember how that incident turned out, so I fought her for the bucket and she got a bit wet. I think she might be upset, so we probably want to stay clear of her right now anyway." Riou giggled nervously and Jowy could feel his warm breath puff against his ear. It almost tickled.

Jowy pulled away and breathed a sigh of relief. It was absolutely no fun being woken up by a bucket of icy water. "You just seem to keep saving me over and over again, don't you?"

Riou shrugged. He certainly didn't think anything of it. At least Nanami got most of the water on herself and Riou escaped almost unscathed, except a punch on the shoulder and the evil eye. "When she remembered that your arm was hurt she felt bad about wanting to pour the water on you… but I don't think she feels very good about getting splashed."

Riou nodded in the direction of the fire, his brown hair falling into his eyes. Jowy wanted to brush it away but resisted the temptation. He wasn't sure how that would fare with his friend. Instead, Riou pushed it away impatiently and said, "Before she walked off in a bit of a huff she left us our lunch. I was hungry, but I decided to wait for you before I ate."

Jowy was flattered. He didn't really need company to eat, and he knew how Riou was with food so it was obviously a sacrifice on his part to wait for however long for Jowy to wake up.

"How long have you been waiting to eat?" Jowy wondered out loud.

"Hmmm about 20 minutes I suppose." Riou stood up and offered a hand to help Jowy to his feet. Jowy took it and Riou pulled him to his feet before dragging him over to the fire where he or Nanami had set up some little logs to be sat upon.

Riou ladled some of the stew into a dish -Jowy **hoped **Riou had cooked; Nanami's cooking was infamous- and handed it to Jowy before taking some for himself. Riou was almost a fearful site to see when he ate. He wasn't messy really so much as he was aggressive about eating. The speed he could wolf down food would probably set some kind of record, if such a record existed.

Jowy watched in disbelief. It certainly wasn't a new sight but it was always startling.

Riou noticed the stare and stopped eating. "Oh… I forgot about your arm. Do you need help eating?"

Jowy shook himself from his thoughts and smiled. "No, I can still feed myself, if I can't do much else. It was my left arm that was hurt after all." He paused and added, "I just was thinking… I really hate carrots, do you want mine?"

Riou smiled brightly and nodded. Jowy reached over and doled out his carrots to Riou. At least they'd go to some use. Jowy figured that Riou ate so fast he couldn't taste the carrots. No one could actually enjoy the taste of the vile vegetable. He laughed into his bowl and started to eat.

…

It was definitely Nanami's cooking.

Jowy groaned to himself. Maybe if he ate like Riou he wouldn't notice the taste either. No one could survive that long with Nanami's cooking without having some sort of secret method. He began to cram the food when he felt someone's eyes on him.

He looked over at Riou who wore a face of disbelief.

Jowy couldn't help but laugh. The thought of Riou judging anyone else's eating habits was just too funny. "Don't give me that look, Riou. You know as well as I do, when Nanami cooks, it's best to get it over with quickly."

Riou started to laugh along with him and stopped suddenly, clearing his throat nervously and giving Jowy a look that clearly said, "Oh, crap."

Jowy raised his head to the cave entrance and saw Nanami standing there, her hair dripping wet, holding her slippers in her hand and looking mildly angry and very insulted. "What do you think you're talking about, Jowy!" She advances on him dangerously. "I cook, and I clean up after you and I fix your wounds and I take care of you and this is what I get?"

Jowy laughed nervously and leaned back on his log seat. Nanami was getting uncomfortably close with that murderous look in her eyes. "You- you know I'm only kidding Nanami."

When she didn't back off and began to breathe out her nose heavily Jowy decided to play the sympathy card. He pushed out his bottom lip, widened his eyes and said in a soft voice; "it must be my arm…" He looked sullen. "The- the pain, it must be making me delirious or something." He looked up at her through long lashes, "you know I've always loved your cooking Nanami."

He broke off into a little sob and Riou made a face that clearly said, "No way in the world will Nanami ever buy that."

But he was wrong. Nanami's expression softened and she turned instead on Riou. "I thought I told you to fix his arm again! And here you are, eating like a piglet while poor Jowy suffers!"

Riou spluttered indignantly, he didn't know what to say. Jowy thought it was terribly funny, but didn't want to leave Riou in a bad situation, especially since Nanami was already in a bad mood. He jumped to Riou's defense. "It isn't his fault Nanami. He did help with my arm, it's probably just not healing properly."

Nanami, hands on hips and looking very motherly said, "well, maybe you'll need stitches after all?"

"Well, that is… I mean…" He looked around the cave for inspiration, for anything to get him out of this. Riou shrugged helplessly. He may be able to bring an end to the war and lead and army of thousands but not even Riou stood a chance against Nanami.

Jowy did the only thing he could think of in this sort of situation. He stood up calmly, set his half-empty dish down and bolted out the cave, leaving Nanami -startled and confused- and Riou -nearly falling off his log seat with laughter- behind.

.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.

About twenty minutes after his rather embarrassing escape, Jowy heard a voice calling out for him. He could tell it was Riou. Unless Nanami had somehow turned into a boy… Jowy shook his head of that disturbing thought and yelled, "I'm over here, Riou."

Riou followed the sound of his friend's voice until he came upon him, sitting under a tree, legs crossed, his bandaged arm in his lap. Riou was suddenly struck with the thought that it must've been hard for Jowy to cross his legs in pants that tight. He laughed to himself and crossed the distance to sit next to his older companion.

"It was pretty smooth of you to run away like that, Jowy. You can rule a kingdom but you have to run away from a girl." Riou's eyes were bright with laughter at his friend's expense.

Jowy laughed and said without joking, "A Kingdom is nothing compared to Nanami." He shook his head his face turned toward the ground. "She is one terrifying girl. She's going to make some kind of wife someday, don't you think?" he asked, looking up at Riou through his eyelashes.

Riou turned his head sharply and opened his mouth to speak. All that came out was a croak. Riou cleared his throat and tried again. "W- Wife? You mean you're going to marry Nanami?" He looked startled and confused, as if the idea had never crossed his mind before.

Jowy looked rather shocked at the suggestion as well. "Me? Marry Nanami? What- why… No! Of course not," he managed to get out. "I meant, not for me but in general, you know?"

Riou looked rather relieved and Jowy felt something well up inside his chest. Riou could have been relieved for many other reasons but Jowy didn't want to dwell on that. He felt his face get warm and decided to make a joke of it. "I can't manage to eat her cooking more than once a day, how would I survive a lifetime of it, eh?"

Riou threw his head back against the tree trunk and laughed until tears glimmered at the corners of his eyes. Jowy had missed the sight so dearly when he had been separated from Riou and to him, it was one of the most wonderful sights in the world.

Riou wiped a hand under his eyes and said, "I'm glad you won't marry Nanami…"

Jowy's heart skipped a beat.

"…That would be kind of awkward, don't you think?"

Jowy frowned, "well, I suppose that's true."

Riou nodded knowingly and crossed his arms. "You'd be living with Nanami if you got married, right?"

"I suppose that would be true…"

"Well then," Riou turned slightly pink, "I don't mean this in a bad or a selfish way but, well, where would that leave me? It would be kind of lonely if you were and Nanami were always together…" He trailed off and turned his gaze to the grass, picking at the blades and obviously too embarrassed to look at Jowy.

Jowy knew, even without Riou telling him, that he didn't mean it selfishly. If Jowy had, for whatever reason, decided to marry Nanami, he knew Riou would be nothing but supportive to them. But for Riou to confess his worries like that; to Jowy it was the sweetest thing he'd ever heard. Though, he wouldn't say that to Riou because he'd probably get a Tonfa to the side of the face. Instead he said, "Well, it doesn't matter since I'm not marrying Nanami, right?"

Riou nodded, eyes still glued to the ground and poking a very uninteresting bug.

"And, well, this is nothing against Nanami, I love her dearly, you know that, but, I'd sooner leave her out than you." Jowy laughed and said, "I'd sooner marry you than her-" As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted saying them. He almost gasped aloud as his face grew hot and -he imagined- tomato red. "What I mean is, aha, you know… umm…"

Riou looked up with a bright smile. "I know what you mean, I wouldn't marry Nanami either." He furrowed his brow, "but then, Nanami is my sister, even if we aren't related by blood. So I guess it doesn't really count, does it?"

Jowy rubbed the back of his neck, still feeling slightly awkward. "No, I guess… it doesn't, ha… ha."

Riou seemed to think nothing of what Jowy had said and, in fact, seemed mollified knowing that Nanami wouldn't replace him. Though, Riou reasoned to himself, it wouldn't be exactly the same since he and Nanami would still have different roles in Jowy's life. It wasn't like he was vying for the position of his wife.

Riou burst out laughing at the thought of being anyone's wife. Cooking meals, sewing clothes, wearing a frilly apron… whatever else it was that a wife even did. It was an absolutely stupid and funny thought and he couldn't help but laugh.

Jowy turned his head to stare at Riou, dumbstruck. Sometimes Jowy had to seriously doubt Riou's sanity when he had outbursts such as this. Especially since, while he was a warm and friendly person, he wasn't known for his extreme exuberance. "Are you… okay?"

Riou stifled his laughter and between small giggles managed to say, "Yeah, I'm fine, I just…"

He broke into small snorts of laughing once again and Jowy just smiled and rolled his eyes. He was sure he didn't really want to know what was making Riou laugh like that.

When he regained his composure he leaned into Jowy –whose stomach gave a little flutter- and said, "Anyway, I came to tell you that Nanami is more worried about you than angry so it's safe to come back."

Riou looked up at the sky and squinted, trying to remember whatever else it was he came to say. "Oh, also, Nanami wants to get going in a couple hours so she wants us to clean up so she can wash our clothes."

Jowy looked down and examined his clothes. Nanami was certainly right, after the storm and the fight with the giant Chimera his clothes and hair had certainly seen better days. At least his face was clean. As Jowy thought this his face flushed with embarrassment, remembering it was Riou who had washed his face for him.

"Alright, let's go then. You know better than I do how Nanami gets when she's impatient." Jowy shook off those thoughts, stood up, brushed the grass off his pants and his held good hand out to Riou.

Riou grinned and took the proffered hand. "I certainly do know. That's why I came out here to get you." He frowned at Jowy and said, "next time, pick a hiding spot that's easier to find?"

Jowy offered Riou a sly smile. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of a hiding place?" He ruffled Riou's hair. It was a familiar form of contact he could get away with without making Riou suspicious of his actions, had Riou been capable of being suspicious of Jowy's motives. After all, he'd always ruffled Riou's hair, ever since they were little.

Riou bumped Jowy with his shoulder and said, "hush up, you," with a small, quiet smile.

"I'll race you!" he shouted. And he darted off ahead of Jowy who stood there for a moment before starting to chase behind him, arm held at an awkward angle.

"No fair! I'm injured! I should get a head start!"

Riou turned around and jogged backward for a moment, gave him a grin, said, "oh well, you'd better hurry up then" and darted off toward their temporary shelter leaving Jowy to grin helplessly and run as best as he could to catch up to the subject of his adoration.


End file.
